These are the 15 best Genesis songs of all time

19 September 2025, 08:29

By Mayer Nissim

From prog rock to pure pop, we round up Genesis's finest moments

Loading audio...

Genesis played their last ever show on March 26, 2022, putting a full stop on one of the most remarkable careers in British music.

Across their various lineups the band released 15 albums, and it's really on the strength of those long-players that much of their reputation rests.

But those records were packed with classic songs, and in the 1980s under the leadership of Phil Collins they also became an incredible singles band.

Rounding up just 15 of their finest songs is no easy task, but that's just what we've done.

To celebrate all things Genesis, we've ranked them all the way up to the very best for an ultimate best-of.

Hold on My Heart

Genesis - Hold On My Heart (Official Music Video)

The third single from the 14th Genesis album We Can't Dance (the last to feature Phil Collins), was written by the core trio of Collins/Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford. with straightforward love lyrics by Phil.
The tender ballad proved that Genesis were still serious big hitters into the 1990s, going to number 16 in the UK and even better, number 12 in the US.
Watcher of the Skies

Watcher of The Skies - Genesis | The Midnight Special

As we've noted, in their earlier, Peter Gabriel-led days, Genesis were all about proggy excess and albums, not the three minute single.
With its title nabbed from Keats and lyrics inspired by comics and sci-fi, 'Watcher of the Skies' clocked in at 7:24 as the opening track on 1972's Foxtrot (that album closed with the seven-part, 23-minute Supper's Ready).
The single version wasn't an edit, but actually a re-recorded version that snuck it in at less than four minutes, and even though it didn't chart, it proved that there was plenty of pop melody hiding under the layers of abundance.
Abacab

Genesis - Abacab (Official Music Video)

The nonsense title came from the structure of (an early version of) the song, with different sections labelled A, B and C.
"We'd start with section A and then have section C and then have section [pauses] and at one point in time, it spelt 'ABACAB'," he explained.
"And you've got the final version where it's not that at all, it's like 'ACACACUCUBUBUGA'."
The title track from the album of the same name was hacked down from seen minutes to around four for the single, which did the trick when it peaked at number nine in the UK singles chart and went to number 26 in the US.
The Carpet Crawlers

Genesis - Carpet Crawlers (Official Audio)

One of the most intriguing and enduring songs in the Genesis back catalogue, it started off with a lyric by the band's then-leader and frontman Peter Gabriel.
Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks wrote the chords, before Gabriel then slaved over the melody on the piano.

Genesis - The Carpet Crawlers (Official Live Video)

The song featured on Genesis's 1974 double album and masterpiece The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and its dense storytelling about the character of Rael has been much analysed over the years.
Beyond the oddness of the lyrics, the song has drawn attention for the confusion over its title – in official spaces its been known as 'The Carpet Crawlers', 'Carpet Crawlers', 'The Carpet Crawl' and 'Carpet Crawl'.

Genesis - Carpet Crawlers 1999 (Official Music Video)

And then 1999, Genesis returned to the song, reuniting with Peter Gabriel and re-recording it with super producer Trevor Horn for the Turn It On Again: The Hits.
It was the last Genesis studio recording and featured the five-man lineup of Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, with Gabriel and Collins sharing lead vocals.
In fact, Phil's replacement Ray Wilson (he of Stiltskin, who fronted final album Calling All Stations) was due to sing the last verse, but he left the band before the recording.
Misunderstanding

Genesis - Misunderstanding (Official Music Video)

Another of the singles from the absolutely massive Duke album, 'Misunderstanding' actually stalled outside the UK top 40 but went to number 14 in the US.
The roots of the song came from an unused demo from Phil's solo debut Face Value, with Collins being inspired by Sly and the Family Stone's 'Hot Fun in the Summertime', Toto's 'Hold the Line' and especially The Beach Boys' 'Sail On, Sailor'.
"All three of us were fans of the Beach Boys, so when Phil brought the song to the writing sessions, we thought it would be a fun one to work on," said Tony Banls
"It has a California, summertime, surfer vibe to it that was unlike anything else we'd worked on in the past"
I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

Genesis - I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) [Official Audio]

Five albums in with 1973's Selling England by the Pound, Genesis finally got into the singles chart with 'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' reaching number 21.
A classically odd bit of early Genesis storytelling inspired by Betty Swanwick's painting The Dream, it's a bloke called Jacob who is happy mowing lawns as a groundsman.
It hinted at the band's Peter Gabriel-free future, with the then-frontman sharing lead vocals with drummer Phil Collins.
The Silent Sun

Silent Sun

Where it all began. The first ever song released by Genesis, as a single on February 2, 1968.
Phil Collins was still a couple of years away from joining, and joining Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford was guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer Chris Stewart.
Stewart would be replaced by John Silver, who would record the rest of parent album From Genesis to Revelation (Silver would in turn be replaced by John Mayhew, before Collins took over).
Arthur Greenslade added orchestration and the resulting pop/folk sound produced by Jonathan King would only slightly hint at the progressive direction they would take on Trespass two years down the line.
A re-release as 'The Silent Sun 2006' beefed up the drums and, as the band's last single release, made the track the bookends for a remarkable career.
Jesus He Knows Me

Genesis - Jesus He Knows Me (Official Music Video)

Unlike their early dense prog storytelling or mid-period pop romance, 'Jesus He Knows Me' was a biting bit of satire.
Taking aim at the televangelists that seemed to dominate the airwaves, the song (and its hilarious video) absolutely hit the mark ("Do you believe in God? / 'Cause that's what I'm selling").
Released in the summer of 1992 as the band's recording career was winding down, it was a top 20 hit in the UK and number 23 single in the US.
Follow You Follow Me

Genesis - Follow You Follow Me (Official Music Video)

After the departure of the incredibly talented guitarist Steve Hackett, Genesis were stripped down to the essential core trio of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks – the lineup that would come to dominate the 1980s.
They leaned into the situation with the name of their 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three... The record saw the band inching towards that all-conquering sound they would eventually perfect on Duke, with Phil Collins starting to establish himself as the band's new creative leader.
But 'Follow You Follow Me' was written by all of the trio with Mike Rutherford providing the lyrics, the song's simple loved up vibe ("In your arms/I feel so safe and so secure") helped the band score their biggest success at the time, hitting number 7 in the UK and 23 in the US.
Mama

Genesis - Mama (Official Music Video)

With his gated drum innovation, Hugh Padgham had helped Phil Collins become one of the biggest solo stars of the decade as the co-producer of his Face Value album.
He engineered Abacab for Genesis in 1981 and was promoted to co-producer for the self-titled Genesis, which opened with lead single and massive hit 'Mama'.
The song grew out of a jam session which saw Rutherford faffing about with a drum machine and Phil Collins going all-out on his OTT vocals and brilliantly out-there laugh inspired by Grandmaster Flash's 'The Message'.
Collins would later explain that the song is "about a young teenager that's got a mother fixation with a prostitute that he's just happened to have met in passing and he has such a strong feeling for her and doesn't understand why she isn't interested in him".
"Full marks to them," said Mike Rutherford on the management and label going ahead with the song as a single. "They agreed we should go with something that was a bit different".
The risk paid off as the song charted at number four in the UK – still the band's biggest hit here to this day.
I Can't Dance

Genesis - I Can't Dance (Official Music Video)

Apparently inspired by The Clash's 'Should I Stay or Should I Go', which was enjoying a second life (and belated number one hit status) at the time as the music on a Levi's ad, the working title of 'I Can't Dance' was apparently 'Blue Jeans'.
"It was one of those bits you thought was going to go nowhere," said Tony Banks. "It sounded fun but wasn't really special."
But once the keyboards were layered on it sounded less like a jokey bluesy jam, and not just an album track but major single, complete with satirical video that took aim at the sort of jeans adverts that had inadvertently inspired the song in the first place.
The song reached number 7 on both sides of the Atlantic, the band's last studio recording to go top ten.
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (Official Music Video)

Phil Collins had been flitting back and forth between his incredible solo career and Genesis in the mid-1980s, so much so it sometimes felt like that line was beginning to blur.
At times, 1986 album Invisible Touch sounded a fair bit like a Phil Collins solo album, not that there was much wrong with that given how hot he was at that moment.
The album's fifth and final single 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight' was a record breaker, making Genesis the first non-American band to have five singles from one album reach the top five on the US Billboard Hot 100,
On Invisible Touch, the song was an absolute monster, stretching its tale of drug dependency ("I'm coming down, coming down like a monkey") to nearly nine minutes. The single edit didn't lose any of that power, despite being sliced in half.
Turn It On Again

Genesis - Turn It On Again (Official Music Video)

While some felt like by Duke in 1980 that Genesis was becoming "Phil Collins' band", that really wasn't the case. All three of the trio were serious creative contributors to the songs and sound of Genesis.
A great bit of evidence for that comes with one of the band's very greatest singles.
It had lyrics from Mike Rutherford about a compulsive telly watcher ("All I need is a TV show") and music pasted together from Banks and Rutherford's offcuts from other projects, together with a freaky drumbeat from Collins.
And for all its poppiness, that drumming makes it weird enough to be a properly odd bit of Genesis.
"You can't dance to it," Collins said of its odd time signature.
"You see people trying to dance to it every now and again. They get on the off beat but they don't know why."
That didn't stop it going to number eight in the UK singles chart though.
e lyrics, by Mike Rutherford,[5]concern a man who does nothing more than watch television. He becomes obsessed with the people he watches on it, believing them to be his friends.
Land of Confusion

Genesis - Land Of Confusion (Official Music Video)

These days, 'Land of Confusion' is sometimes best remembered for its absolutely brilliant music video, which features the band as Spitting Image puppets and a barmy narrative involving President Ronald Reagan and a host of other pop stars of the day and a Live Aid spoof to boot.
Phil Collins had apparently seen his own Spitting Image puppet on the telly and, rather than be offended, got in touch to ask them to make Mike and Tony for the video.
It's an absolute classic, but shouldn't overshadow the excellence of the song itself, which is absolutely one of Genesis's best of any era.
Its lyrics defy easy analysis though lend themselves to an anti-war interpretation ("I must've dreamed a thousand dreams/ Been haunted by a million screams"), and its sound is a perfect melding of staccato pop FX and shiny metallic melody that for all its accessibility sounded like no-one else (except maybe a smidge like Peter Gabriel, of all people).
Invisible Touch

Genesis - Invisible Touch (Official Music Video)

"'Invisible Touch' is my favourite Genesis song and it came more or less out of nowhere," Phil Collins told The Guardian in 2014.
"I'm sure people have all kinds of ideas about how we wrote these songs they love or loathe, but really our writing process was close to jazz. We improvised. We weren’t afraid to make lousy noises."
The lead single and title track of Genesis's biggest album 'Invisible Touch' was arguably the most perfect distillation of their mid-1980s all-conquering sound.
That blue eyed soul vocal from Phil Collins, the easy melody, upbeat, uncomplicated love lyrics written by Collins about his ex-wife Andrea Bertorelli, and absolutely massive key change.
The song went to number 15 in the UK and actually topped the charts in the USA. As for what knocked it off the top? Peter Gabriel with 'Sledgehammer'. Everyone was happy for each other, though.